I thought you could play this game without logging into Steam?

[DaveShack]

Moderator Action: CFC does not condone piracy, suggestions of resorting to it, etc.

In reply to the OP, have you tried running the Civ5 exe directly from the program files directory?
I'm on win7 and for me it's located in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\sid meier's civilization v\CivilizationV.exe". Running this might be the oft-mentioned "offline mode", meaning it might let you play with no connection. I can't try it myself because going offline would disrupt the Civ4 pitboss games I'm hosting.

 

[Senethro]

Moderator Action: CFC does not condone piracy, suggestions of resorting to it, etc.

In reply to the OP, have you tried running the Civ5 exe directly from the program files directory?
I'm on win7 and for me it's located in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\sid meier's civilization v\CivilizationV.exe". Running this might be the oft-mentioned "offline mode", meaning it might let you play with no connection. I can't try it myself because going offline would disrupt the Civ4 pitboss games I'm hosting.

THis usually doesn't work and I suspect it won't with Civ. There is an actual offline mode in the menu that, assuming you've saved your password with that little checkbox the last time you logged in, will be available without going online.

 

[Chadwick]

You can play offline by putting steam into "Offline" mode, or by disabling your network driver.

 

[Elvey]

What do you mean by disabling the network driver ? could you explain please

 

[Novem]

You don't actually have to disable your network card/driver. Just simply remove the network cable from your machine, or your modem, or whatever it's plugged into that supplies your internet access. Then just launch steam and select offline mode. Presto, you can play the game.

To all bemoaning Steam, it's human nature to be resistant to change, but steam is not as intrusive as you think it is. It makes updating very easy. And I'm pretty sure you will want to get all the updates since this is a new game and will be patched quite a bit for a while. To those that think it takes up resources, have you even looked in task manager to see it's system footprint? It takes up less resources then some of Window's programs.

 

[cdcuase]

You don't actually have to disable your network card/driver. Just simply remove the network cable from your machine, or your modem, or whatever it's plugged into that supplies your internet access. Then just launch steam and select offline mode. Presto, you can play the game.

To all bemoaning Steam, it's human nature to be resistant to change, but steam is not as intrusive as you think it is.

Well, it is intrusive if you have to physically disconnect your internet in order to play a game....

It makes updating very easy. And I'm pretty sure you will want to get all the updates since this is a new game and will be patched quite a bit for a while.

In all the years I played civ4 I've never had a problem with updating. But then again, the updates slowed considerably after the 1st year.

 

[Gvaz]

Why do you need to turn off steam in order to play a game? That doesn't even make sense.

 

[civ_king]

Well, it is intrusive if you have to physically disconnect your internet in order to play a game....



In all the years I played civ4 I've never had a problem with updating. But then again, the updates slowed considerably after the 1st year.

It allows Firaxis to churn out patches and release them quickly instead of waiting a month until they have a big patch

 

[Earende]

It allows Firaxis to churn out patches and release them quickly instead of waiting a month until they have a big patch

That's one of the reason a known company gave for going with steam. Of course, it's rubbish, proven by themselves.

 

[Varelse]

Moderator Action: CFC does not condone piracy, suggestions of resorting to it, etc.

In reply to the OP, have you tried running the Civ5 exe directly from the program files directory?
I'm on win7 and for me it's located in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\sid meier's civilization v\CivilizationV.exe". Running this might be the oft-mentioned "offline mode", meaning it might let you play with no connection. I can't try it myself because going offline would disrupt the Civ4 pitboss games I'm hosting.

I tried that. It doesn't work. The offline mode does the trick though. I'm not sure why you should have to log in at all after the first verification, but whatever. I'll get over it.

 

[Luke Bioware]

To give some weight against all of you people: I really like Steam and don't see the problem if you don't. Log in offline and it's just one extra click .

 

[Novem]

Well, it is intrusive if you have to physically disconnect your internet in order to play a game....



In all the years I played civ4 I've never had a problem with updating. But then again, the updates slowed considerably after the 1st year.

Intrusive?? Do you realize how many little programs that Microsoft has running on your system right now (that is if you run windows?) You DON'T HAVE to disconnect your internet to play the game. It is your choice to do that. Steam has an options menu that will allow you to turn off the things you don't want to deal with.

And yes updates may slow after the first YEAR. But within that year if you let Steam run while you are say, at work. If there happens to be updates to the game during the day you won't have to wait around to update once you get home. It will have already updated and waiting for you to sit down for your evening game time. How is there anything wrong with that?

I have run steam since Valve first introduced it with Half Life and Counter Strike. There is nothing destructive about Steam, there is nothing evil about Steam. It's merely a distribution platform that allows people to easily purchase and download games.

I'm not going to get into arguments over Steam. People will like it or not. I stand by my statement that on average people don't like change. Steam isn't evil, it's just something different for some of you.

 

[keef99]

It's interesting to me that some/many people are saying they are having trouble running (or even starting) their game because of the slow connection, large overhead or whatever of Steam.

And yet, too many responses are saying "what's wrong with you? why don't you like Steam? you just don't like change!"

Not being able to run the game seems like a pretty good reason not to appreciate the other values Steam may be bringing to the table. Why should the victims of this process be blamed for not liking the technology being used to deliver the game?

Judging from the thousands of messages on the Steam, 2kgames and civfanatics boards about the issues with installing the game, there's definitely a problem.

 

[bhavv]

BTW Steam is great!

I downloaded the demo (since I live in Europe) and bought the boxed version. It arrived this morning and automatically "upgraded" the demo to the full version using the DVD - without any additional downloading. And the demo was completely removed in the process, which saved me quite some harddisk space.

Since I've started using steam to buy Half-Life 2 Orange box I've not been disappointed a single time, it works like a charm - as long as you KNOW how to use it correctly.

PS: I hate DRM and companies that treat their paying customers like criminals (and that's why don't buy games from certain studios), but game developement costs a lot of money and so I actually want to support the makers of my favourite games. With an online distribution service there's less money "lost" in the delivery chain. Win-win!

Steam is DRM that treats paying customers like Criminals. The only difference being that it has an online store.

The thing is that I've already bought and paid for Civ V. As soon as I find a cracked version that works without needing to log into steam, I'll be getting it. If that makes me a criminal then go ahead and sue and throw me in jail.

Steam isn't evil, it's just something different for some of you.

This is just the usual complete BS that Steam lovers keep on giving. I have used Steam for a few years now for cheap discounted games. It is fine for that, and it isnt anything new or about adapting to change, it is just a pointless online DRM service that allows you to buy, download and play games.

Civ however is THE single game that I never wanted to see adopt using anything as useless and unnecessary as Steam, and I am aware that this wasnt Firaxis' decision, but one made by 2K games who are just as vile and repulsive when it comes to publishers as EA and Ubisoft are. Steam is completely 100% pointless and does nothing but make a Civ game 10x worse than it would be without it. Civ IV was perfect in terms of how it ran, you could install it from the DVD, and run it without needing to have the DVD in the drive. Its a huge shame fr many Civ fans that Civ V took this route into using Steam and attaching DRM to the series because 2K think that PC gamers are pirates and that PC gamers wouldnt pay for the greatest game series ever made if they didnt implement steam into the game.

And as the post above says, both Steam and Civ V have been running like absolute crap for me since I got this game. It has nothing to do with my PC as I can play and use any other game / program fine, and have the specs to run this game completely maxed out with 64x AA. But even if I set the game to minimum details, I still keep on getting crashes, severe loading lag, and Steam itself has been running as slow as a snail many times over the last few days since Civ V launched.

 

[CaptainPatch]

Unfortunately the only alternative to Steam is to not play.

Doesn't that make Steam-powered games a monopoly? Aren't monopolies usually a Bad Thing? Nothing like a company saying "It's our way or the highway! Don't say we didn't give you a choice!"

Unfortunately, the Steam approach is the logical (from a corporate point of view) progression towards the Digital Age. It used to be, "Disk must be in drive to play game." Now it's "Must be connected to Steam to play." Not only do they satisfy their Security concerns, they have the fringe benefit of being able to monitor EVERYONE's game usage. More info fodder for the Marketing Department.

The next inevitable step is that companies will dispense with the hard copy versions entirely -- which will save them a LOT of money that had been tied up in material costs and physical distribution. You can already see that trend with DLC sales. The loss of potential sales from people that can't or won't use Internet connections is trivial compared to their overall savings from not needing to produce hard copies.

I'm certainly not looking forward to this Brave New World we are headed for.

 

[Novem]

Steam is DRM that treats paying customers like Criminals. The only difference being that it has an online store.

The thing is that I've already bought and paid for Civ V. As soon as I find a cracked version that works without needing to log into steam, I'll be getting it. If that makes me a criminal then go ahead and sue and throw me in jail.



This is just the usual complete BS that Steam lovers keep on giving. I have used Steam for a few years now for cheap discounted games. It is fine for that, and it isnt anything new or about adapting to change, it is just a pointless online DRM service that allows you to buy, download and play games.

Civ however is THE single game that I never wanted to see adopt using anything as useless and unnecessary as Steam, and I am aware that this wasnt Firaxis' decision, but one made by 2K games who are just as vile and repulsive when it comes to publishers as EA and Ubisoft are. Steam is completely 100% pointless and does nothing but make a Civ game 10x worse than it would be without it. Civ IV was perfect in terms of how it ran, you could install it from the DVD, and run it without needing to have the DVD in the drive. Its a huge shame fr many Civ fans that Civ V took this route into using Steam and attaching DRM to the series because 2K think that PC gamers are pirates and that PC gamers wouldnt pay for the greatest game series ever made if they didnt implement steam into the game.

And as the post above says, both Steam and Civ V have been running like absolute crap for me since I got this game. It has nothing to do with my PC as I can play and use any other game / program fine, and have the specs to run this game completely maxed out with 64x AA. But even if I set the game to minimum details, I still keep on getting crashes, severe loading lag, and Steam itself has been running as slow as a snail many times over the last few days since Civ V launched.

You are completely allowed to have your opinion. My opinion is it not complete BS since I've been using Steam since it was started and have never ever had any problems with it. I am sorry you appear to be but since there are many of us who are not having problems, you might want to take a look at your system setup and see what else could be causing the lag and slowness.

People get upset when they feel they are being victimized. You apparently do. Maybe take that feeling and apply it to game companies. They are in a no win situation. They don't attempt to lock things down, they get their hard work stolen from them. They lock things down and the average player screams from the mountain tops.

Again I'm sorry you are having issues, and I'm sorry you feel like Steam is bad. It isn't. I won't wish you luck on your search for a crack version because I seriously doubt you will find it. But then I've been wrong before.

 

[Zelig]

And as the post above says, both Steam and Civ V have been running like absolute crap for me since I got this game. It has nothing to do with my PC as I can play and use any other game / program fine, and have the specs to run this game completely maxed out with 64x AA. But even if I set the game to minimum details, I still keep on getting crashes, severe loading lag, and Steam itself has been running as slow as a snail many times over the last few days since Civ V launched.

This is a problem with Civ V, not a problem with Steam, I can assure you.

 

[MikeTn]

I am one of those unlucky people who dfo not have home internet. I use my local library whenever I need internet access . Therefore , I am not able to access Steam at all.That means I cannot even try out the demo. That means I am among the many people who will not be shelling out $50 for Civ V. I will continue to play Civ 4 and spend my $50 with some other company that does NOT use Steam.

So long Firaxis!!!!!!

 

[RomanNapoleon]

All these anti-Steam posts make me feel as if we're still in 1990 and I'm typing this via a x-term client on my 2400 baud modem.

Agreed, stop with all the Steam bashing. This isn't 1990, if you can't figure out how to work Steam maybe you should find another hobby because guess what, most new games will require Steam. Most of the Steam problems in here are made up to make Steam look bad, It's not that hard to use guys.

 

[Maniacal]

I am one of those unlucky people who dfo not have home internet. I use my local library whenever I need internet access . Therefore , I am not able to access Steam at all.That means I cannot even try out the demo. That means I am among the many people who will not be shelling out $50 for Civ V. I will continue to play Civ 4 and spend my $50 with some other company that does NOT use Steam.

So long Firaxis!!!!!!

So long most games now and in the future. It is becoming more and more common to require a one-time internet activation for games (and not just for Steam games).